Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

States On The Frontlines To Get Anti-Overdose Drug ‘Into Everyone’s First-Aid Kit’

Laws have been passed across the country making naloxone more readily available to everyone from cops to the local PTA. Meanwhile, in Seattle, bike cops will start carrying the drug to help combat overdoses in the city.

Stateline:
Building A Ground Army To Fight Heroin Deaths
A crowd quickly gathers here on one of West Baltimore’s many drug-infested street corners. But it isn’t heroin they’re seeking. It’s a heroin antidote known as naloxone, or Narcan. Two city health department workers are holding up slim salmon-colored boxes and explaining that the medication inside can be used to stop someone from dying of a heroin overdose. Most onlookers nod solemnly in recognition. They’ve heard about the drug. They want to know more. Nationwide, more than 150,000 people received naloxone kits from community outreach programs like Baltimore’s between 1996 and 2014, and more than 26,000 overdoses were reversed using those kits, according to a recent survey funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Vestal, 3/16)

Seattle Times:
Seattle Bicycle Cops To Carry Narcan For Heroin Overdoses
Along with their firearms, badges and other more traditional tools of the trade, bicycle police in Seattle will add a pharmaceutical to their armory to combat heroin overdoses. The newest addition will help officers rescue people in dire distress, Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole said. (Clarridge, 3/15)

This is part of the KHN Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.